Drunken Wonder
by Onezumi Daisuke
Summary: The celebration of Yuki's birthday leaves people a little... fuzzy. And insightful.


**Drunken Wonder**

**A Fruit's Basket Story by Onezumi Daisuke **

Disclaimer: I don't not own Fruits Basket... just the dvds and my cute little Yuki purse. :D

Also, although this story includes it, I do not really condone under-age drinking. Please don't think that I'm trying to convince minors that getting drunk is a good idea. I'm not even much of a drinker myself. I just thought it would be funny to picture the always-composed Yuki Sohma drunk. So yeah...

It had been a really long day at school. Everything had started out fine, but seeing as today was Yuki's seventeenth birthday, he'd definitely had more trouble avoiding his fan club today. No matter where he went he was bombarded by flocks of girls giving him presents and cards for his birthday and generally fawning over him.

Tohru and Shigure had given him his gifts at breakfast: a fancy, monogrammed notebook for his class president duties and new gardening shears from Tohru, and a silver Chinese-style shirt embroidered with the symbol for good luck in dark green on the collar that his older cousin had gotten with his brother, Ayame, to create. Overall, they were pretty good items.

Now he, Tohru, and Kyo were finally walking back to the house. Tohru had said she would make a special dinner tonight, whatever he wanted, and he couldn't wait to taste the special cheesecake dessert he'd requested of her.

Remembering now, she'd giggled when he'd asked her for a cheesecake. She'd refused to explain why she thought it was funny, but after some time he'd realized it was probable because he's the rat, and he'd asked for cheesecake… cheese… cake. 'Yeah, well,' he smiled to himself, 'guess I can't blame her.'

"What are you smiling at, you damn rat?" Kyo popped off, disrupting his thoughts.

"I was just imagining what you could've gotten me for my birthday, stupid cat."

"Y-Yeah, right!" Kyo sputtered, "like I'd ever get you anything!"

"Aw, and I was so looking forward to it too," Yuki smirked, goading on the other boy.

"Well if you really want something, I can always give you my foot upside your face," Kyo yelled as he took a fighting stance, facing off against the rat.

"Hmph, if you believe that you really are a stupid cat," Yuki scoffed as he continued walking, his eyes closed.

"Oh, guys, please don't fight," Tohru pleaded, looking back and forth between them, clutching her school bag close to her. "Please…"

Looking at the worried look on her face, Kyo just deflated. "Eh, whatever," he said, continuing on the rest of the way home. "Hey," he called back over his shoulder to where she still stood, "you coming or not?"

"Right," she called, jogging to catch up to the two boys. She hoped they would be able to go the whole day without any fights between them.

"We're home," Yuki called out, being the first through the door.

"So you are," Shigure called from the living room, leaning out from behind his newspaper to smile broadly at them. "So, was it an eventful day?"

Yuki just eyed the dog as he walked upstairs to his room to do his homework. Kyo grunted as he went to the kitchen to get the carton of milk before retreating to his room also.

Tohru was left standing by herself in the doorway. "Heh-heh, well, Yuki did have a lot of people following him around school, trying to give him gifts all day," she smiled nervously.

Shigure just smiled mischievously, "So I expected."

She just smiled and continued on to the kitchen; they were a little late getting home, so she needed to get started on dinner and she still needed to finish that cheesecake.

Yuki had changed out of his school uniform and was now sitting at his desk, where he was supposed to be doing homework. Instead his mind kept wandering. He could see Kyo outside practicing his martial arts moves and he could smell the scent of Tohru's cooking downstairs. He was really looking forward to eating her special meal for him. Her meals were always delicious anyway, but today she was really going out of her way… just for him.

He really had no idea what she was making. He'd only requested the dessert, regardless of how much she insisted he choose. Whatever it was smelled great; he was now thoroughly famished. He couldn't think over the sound of his stomach growling.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden knock at his door. "Yuki," it was Tohru. "Yuki, dinner's ready."

He could practically hear her beaming smile through the closed door. Pushing himself up from the desk, he crossed the room to meet her at the door with a smile.

"I'm glad," he smiled gently, "I was getting pretty hungry, smelling it up here."

"Good thing, there's plenty," she beamed back at him, grabbing his hand and leading the way downstairs.

He was not prepared for what he saw next. Upon entering the dining room he stopped dead in his tracks. He'd never seen so much food on their table before. A big bowl of sukiyaki sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by individual bowls for everyone. There were also the standard bowls of rice and pickles, fresh fruit slices, fish, stewed leeks, boiled mushrooms, and at the end of the table, a large white cheesecake with small lavender flowers on every slice.

It was amazing; she'd gone through all this just for his birthday.

"M-Miss Honda," he stammered. "This is incredible. You've really outdone yourself." He continued to stare wide-eyed as she pulled him the rest of the way to his seat next to hers.

"Ha, ha! Isn't this wonderful?" Shigure clapped his hands together. "Our little flower, Tohru, has brightened our lives with her glorious cooking once again!"

"Geeze, ya think ya made enough?" Kyo scowled.

"Oh, well," she smiled sweetly," I just wanted it to be special, that's all."

They cheerfully progressed through the dinner, managing not to have any major fights amongst each other. They'd barely made a dent in the feast when everyone proclaimed they were full, leaving only room for dessert.

As everyone helped clear out the leftovers, Tohru dished out slices of the cheesecake.

"So why the hell are there flowers on this thing?" Kyo asked, pulling the lavender off his slice.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," Tohru apologized. "I thought it'd be pretty. I really like the purple flowers on the white. Any they're edible, I made sure of that." She smiled sweetly.

"Well, I think it's beautiful," Yuki replied. "I almost don't want to eat it, it's so pretty."

"Oh, well, thank you, I'm so happy you like it," she beamed.

"Oh, I know what this calls for," Shigure smacked his fist into his palm at his sudden thought. He ran quickly out of the room to his study, leaving the others to watch his leaving mid-bite.

A few minutes later he returned with a deck of cards, four small sake dishes and a large bottle of sake in hand. "Lets all have a drink and play a game together!" He sat back down, starting to pour the drinks.

"Drinks?..." The three teens asked in unison.

"Uh, no-no, really, I couldn't!" Tohru exclaimed at the sight of the bottle.

"Um, Shigure," Yuki started, "you do realize this is my _seventeenth_ birthday, not my twentieth, right?"

"Yeah," Kyo added, "I mean, why the hell would we want to drink with you?"

"Aw, why not?" Shigure cried in response. "I thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate. You're going to start sometime anyway, right?" he pleaded.

"Whatever," Yuki said, accepting his cup of sake, "as long as it comes with the game…"

Everyone watched as he drank it, slowly at first, then tipping the cup back to drain it completely. Like seemingly everything else in life, he was completely composed and unfaltering.

"Aw, hell, give me the cup!" Kyo shouted, not about to be outdone by the rat in yet another subject.

Unfortunately he tipped his back pretty quickly and wound up coughing with a burning throat afterward. "Uck, that stuff's awful! What'd you do, Shigure, buy the cheap stuff?"

"No, no, you're just not used to it after all," the dog laughed at his younger cousin. "Tohru?" he offered her the last cup, still empty.

"Oh, no, thank you, but I just couldn't!"

"Alright, I won't force you, but would you please shuffle the cards?" He passed the deck across the table to her.

So the night progressed. Before the first round of the game was over, Yuki and Shigure had each had three cups, the older man beginning to color slightly around the cheeks. Surprisingly enough, Yuki didn't seem affected by the spirits at all yet.

Kyo had tried a second cup shortly after his first, but gave up when he couldn't stand to finish his third. By then Yuki had started to outpace Shigure.

Tohru just sat, playing the game, wondering where the loosened guys would be going tonight. They were having such a great time together she really hoped it wouldn't lead to any fights. She had a feeling it would be ten-times worse if one broke out while they were tipsy.

Finally, on the third consecutive round that Kyo lost to Yuki, he gave up, "That's it, I quit. I'm going to bed!" He got up and started across the room to the stairs.

"Goodnight!" Tohru called. He just waved over his shoulder in response.

The trio switched to a more player-adjustable game. Shigure had all but stopped drinking, taking several minutes to finish one cup and several more between cups.

Yuki, on the other hand, seemingly taking full advantage of the situation, was now well into double-digits. Tohru had lost count somewhere around thirteen.

"You know, Yuki," she started tentatively, "you might want to be careful. You've had quite a few…"

He just smiled at her, "Don't worry, Miss Honda. I'm okay; I can hardly feel it."

Shigure, leaning slightly in his seat, just raised his eyebrows at the teen.

"Okay, -yawn- I think I'm going to bed now too," Tohru said as she stretched her arms high above her head. "Goodnight Yuki, night Shigure." She put the rest of the cheesecake away and headed upstairs.

"Goodnight," both guys called as she left.

"Okay," Shigure said, locking eyes with Yuki," five-card stud, loser drinks."

"Sure," Yuki said coolly, his cheeks were now somewhat flushed, but he didn't seem at all like he'd been steadily knocking them back for over an hour. "You don't seem too steady though, can you keep going?"

"Pssh!" the dog responded, flicking his wrist at the rat. "I'm fine! You just watch out for when it kicks in for you…"

"Whatever, just deal," Yuki was pouring another. By now the bottle was almost empty. For the next ten minutes they played pretty evenly. Shigure had taken another three drinks, Yuki another two.

"Ooohh…." Shigure groaned, holding his head. "That's it, I'm done… I'm going to bed." He slowly rose and headed for his room, taking the now-fully-empty sake bottle with him.

Once across the room, he slowly turned to face Yuki, still seated at the table, watching his older cousin walk with his hand continually on the wall beside him. "Hey," Shigure motioned to the younger man, "remind me not to drink with you anymore…"

"Hmph," Yuki just smirked as the older man continued on to his room. He soon realized that with the dog now gone, there was really no reason for him to stay up any longer. It really wasn't very often that he stayed up later than his elder cousin, but now he really was tired.

Leaning on the table for added leverage, he got up and took two steps towards the stairs before quickly stumbling and plummeting sidelong into the wall to his left.

His brain was screaming at him, suddenly racked with pain and fuzziness. He knew he was still on his feet; he could see them still flat against the wooden floor. But everything felt as though he was standing on the wall, leaning toward the ceiling. Nothing seemed to be angled properly; it was surreal to say the least.

Keeping his left arm pressed against the wall, Yuki slowly made his way across the living room. If he'd have had full control of his mental faculties he would have marveled at how suddenly the drunkenness had overcame him once he'd stood up. Instead his only meager thoughts were 'arm still out… left foot… right foot…' as he shuffled along, the scraping sound of his socks against the floor assaulting his ears.

The unsteady rat finally reached the stairs. Leaning more fully against the wall he lifted his foot, extended it out, lowered it down… _Thump_. Looking down, his were both on the floor still. Again, one foot up, … out… down… _thump_. Still not on the step.

Yuki groaned, even his fuzzy brain could tell he wasn't going to be able to _walk_ up these stairs. Mumbling curses under his breath should anyone catch him, he slid himself down the wall to kneel on the floor. He pressed his shoulder against the wall as he slowly crawled up the stairs, one at a time, on his hands and knees.

After what seemed an eternity and after having stumbled backward twice, the now-red-faced young prince found himself at the top of the stairs, his hands dry and aching from his climb.

The small nightlight, which normally barely illuminated the hall should anyone need the restroom during the night, now seemed to shine with the brightness of a thousand suns glaring directly into his bloodshot eyes. Trying not to look was impossible. He squeezed his eyes closed tightly against the intruding light and rose unsteadily to his feet, both hands still against the wall to his left.

He shuffled along the wall blindly until his hands met a doorframe. Kyo's room was the first on the left, so that must be where he was now. Directly across the hall was the bathroom, then his room, so he needed to cross, he reasoned foggily.

Yuki pushed off gently from the wall, his feet unsteadily criss-crossing back and forth as he crossed the few feet to the other side of the hall and thumped roughly against the right wall.

He slid his hands along the wall, finding the doorframe. Eyes still closed, he slid along the wall to it, then past it. His room was next past the bathroom. When he reached the next door he fumbled clumsily with the knob, trying to enter quietly; he still didn't need Shigure or Kyo seeing him drunk and stumbling along down the hallway. He also had no real desire to let Tohru see him like this although she wouldn't ridicule him like his male cousins would.

After several times of trying to turn the knob the wrong way, Yuki finally managed to slip through the door, shutting it quickly behind himself and leaning against it heavily. Finally able to open his eyes, he glanced around the darkened room. He couldn't really make out much, just shadows that seemed to sway across the room.

He started to fumble with the buttons on his shirt; rolling them around in his clumsy fingers as he tried to slip them through the small slits they were supposed to pass through.

After spending several minutes undoing every single button instead of just what was necessary to slip it over his head, Yuki finally was able to slide the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, tossing it to his right where his dirty clothes hamper stood. He didn't even register the soft _flop_ as it landed on the floor instead.

He took a few steps forward, unbuckling his belt as he walked to the bed. Once both button and zipper were released, he slid the pants down, tangling his own knees as he was still shuffling along slowly.

Realizing his mistake, he tried to lift his foot out of the fabric binding his legs and instead tripped himself further, lost his balance, and fell unceremoniously to the floor, landing on his boxer-clad rear and leaning on one arm.

Sitting up with a huff, he disentangled himself from the pants and proceeded to remove his socks. Pulling from the toes to slide them off his feet, thumping his heel against the floor at the release of the first sock and flinging himself backward and bumping his already throbbing head at the second.

Small lights splayed across his vision as he lie on his back against the floor. He rolled over, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. He slowly rose, one unsteady foot at a time, leaving his pants a messy heap on the floor and forgoing the pajamas he normally wore to bed. He was too hot to care anyway.

He pulled back the covers and slid into bed, his head still pounding away as he laid down against the pillow. Barely remembering to cover himself, he was instantly asleep.

The night continued to pass as the world slept on.

Yuki stirred in his sleep, vaguely aware of nearby warmth. He rolled over, snuggling against it. He stretched out his arm, wrapping it around the soft warmth, pulling it closer to him…

Tohru awoke as the bed shifted beneath her. Her eyes widened and a scream hitched in her throat, escaping only as a raspy gasp, as an unknown arm snaked around her waist.

**POOF**

A cloud of pink smoke surrounded her bed, slowly dissipating. Stunned, she slowly raised the blanket and looked down.

In the wan moonlight filtering down through the window she could see a small tuft of shining silver fur against her side. _Yuki._ Yuki was in her bed… He must have transformed when he put his arm around her. 'But why… is he here?' she thought, blushing furiously in the dark.

"Yuki?" she called softly as she gently lifted the small rat from her side, bringing him close to her face so she could see him better.

He looked so peaceful; she could hear him snoring lightly, stretched out across her palm. His tail hung completely limp between her fingers. She smiled as she watched the sleeping zodiac. She could still slightly smell the sake from earlier. He must have drank too much after all. Maybe he was trying to say goodnight or something.

'Oh well,' she thought, climbing out of bed. 'I'll just go put him back in bed then.' Carefully holding the sleeping Sohma still, she found his boxers in her bed and his pants on the floor nearby.

'Wait,' her brain caught her… 'He wasn't wearing his pajamas… He got undressed _before_ getting in my bed…'

She gasped, dropping the clothes as she blushed scarlet once again. Her heart raced. 'What was he _thinking_?' she screamed in her head.

Looking frantically around her room as she continued walking to the door, she spotted Yuki's shirt on the floor behind her door. She stopped, one hand still holding the rat, the other hand outstretched toward the door handle.

His shirt was behind the door – that's where his hamper is… His pants were in the middle of the floor – he must've taken them off on his way to the bed… He was asleep in his boxers on her bed – which is in the same position as his in his room next door… He wasn't trying to talk to her or do anything he shouldn't have, he thought this was his room!

She chided herself silently for having doubted him. He was her friend and she should be there for him when he needed her. She reached out her hand to the door knob and slowly clicked the lock into place. That way no one else could see him this vulnerable; the embarrassment would surely kill him.

Hugging the small rat to herself she walked across the room and climbed back in bed. After all her moving around, he hadn't stirred once. If he was this completely comfortable with her, she was going to keep it that way.

She propped her pillows up and leaned against them, keeping herself partially upright. She cradled Yuki against her chest, softly stroking his back as he slept soundly. It was amazing to see the prince sleeping like this. He really was beautiful, even in this form; his normally white fur shone a bright silver in the moonlight and his soft pink ears dropped ever-so-slightly as he breathed. She found herself playing with his tail, continuing her fingers down his spine, she'd follow the hairless tail down and wrap the tip gently around her finger like one would a lock of hair.

She giggled to herself and went back to stroking the fur around his ears. Yuki stretched his legs and sighed, rolling over slightly into the contact. She'd never seen anything so cute…

Tohru laid there that way, holding her friend against her heart, gently petting him as he slept, until her hand dropped softly to the bed next to her. She was asleep too.

Yuki awoke to the stinging of sunlight peeking in around his eyelids. 'God, that's bright…' he inwardly groaned. Apparently he'd forgotten to close his curtains before going to bed. He hated waking up to dawn blinding him. He'd much rather sleep in…

Especially since his bed was so soft and warm beneath him; he snuggled closer into the softness, trying to push off the covers from his back that seemed extra heavy today. Wearily he rubbed the back of his hand against his eye and felt his claw catch in his hair.

Wait… claw? His eyes snapped open. Sure enough, he was in his animal form. But what on Earth had happened? _Why_ was he a rat?

Sitting up on all fours he looked behind himself. The weight he'd thought was his blanket before was in fact a hand, he'd crawled out from under it somewhat.

He turned quickly and looked up. Before him lay a sleeping face, surrounded by locks of soft brown hair. Tohru.

It was Tohru… He was sleeping on Tohru… 'But that means…' his brain slowly clicked. He jerked his head down to look at his hands and feet. The lace-lined cotton was wrinkled where he'd been laying, exposing the soft top of her cleavage. He was _on_ Tohru's _breast_.

"Ahh!" he freaked, his body spasmed erratically as he tried to get up without touching her any further. He could feel his face burning redder than he ever had.

Then, to his utter horror, she woke up. Her free arm stretched above her head, a yawn escaping her lips, her left hand coming up to brush gently against him once again.

'No, no, no…' he thought frantically.

She blinked and looked down at him.

'No!' he wished he could disappear, not be there anymore, be anywhere else, so long as she wouldn't see, wouldn't know. She'd never be able to forgive him for this…

Panicking he flung himself over the edge of the bed, hoping to run away before she realized what was happening.

"No, Yuki!" she cried, reaching out with both hands, she caught him deftly in mid air, halting his sudden descent.

"My gosh! Yuki! Are you okay? Don't scare me like that!" she brought him up close to her face. Her eyes were wide and worried.

He was trying to shrink as small as possible as she held him in both her hands.

"Yuki? What's wrong, did you get hurt?"

"M-Miss Honda… I'm- I'm so sorry! I don- don't know what happened. I swear, I never meant to…!" he stammered until she cut him off with a giggle.

"It's alright, Yuki," she smiled sweetly down to him. "I woke up in the middle of the night and you were here," she giggled again. "I think you just drank too much and got mixed up which room you were in, that's all."

He stared open-mouthed at her. He'd thought she would hate him, yell at him for touching her, tell him he was a pervert and she never wanted to see him again… but she was just smiling at him.

That sweet smile that warms his heart and makes him smile back without even realizing it.

"You seemed so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you…"

"But," he remembered embarrassed, "I'm sorry, Miss Honda, I was on your… your…" he turned away, almost ready to throw himself from her hands again.

"Oh, that," she said with a start. "That's no problem, actually, you see," she rushed as her face darkened to a bright pink. "That was me really. Well, you looked so peaceful and cute that I wanted to keep you close, so I held you and petted you, since you seemed to like it. So, I put you there, you know, to keep you safe… and warm…" she trailed off, obviously embarrassed.

Yuki's purple eyes were huge as he looked aghast at her. "You… you held me?... Petted me?" he said, barely above a whisper.

"Un-huh," she nodded. "I'm sorry, I had no right to; you were just confused and in the wrong room; I never should have-" she started to freak.

"No, no, Miss Honda," he interrupted. "It's just,… thank you," he gently placed his front feet against her thumbs. "Really, thank you for caring for me. I can't imagine anyone else who would've done that for me." He looked up at her, earnestly thankful.

"Oh, well, my pleasure," she said, smiling again. "I did really enjoy seeing you sleep so soundly. And your fur is so soft, I fell asleep petting you," she laughed lightly.

"Oh, well, thank you," he smiled back. "Actually, I don't remember anyone ever having petted me before… I don't know…. What it's like…"

The look on Tohru's face changed. She still smiled, but now it was sad. She felt saddened for him. Shifting him to sit in her left palm only, she gently reached up behind Yuki's head, rubbing the fur at the back of his neck and behind his round little ears.

His eyes widened again at the touch, then slowly closed, relishing the sensation. Her gentle fingers rubbing rhythmically through his fur. A small squeak he'd never intended passed his lips.

Giggling, Tohru continued petting him, running her hand down his back as well.

"It's amazing," he said as she slowed to a stop. "I never would've thought I'd like that." His legs felt weak. "Would you… would you do that again for me… sometime?" he asked quietly.

"Of course, Yuki," she answered simply, continuing to smile that smile that'd melted his heart.

She glanced at the clock on the table next to her, "Oh, my gosh, Yuki, the time!" she scrambled to her feet. "I've gotta get you back to your room! If I'm not downstairs soon, Shigure will come up here to check on me and we don't want him to find you here!" She was holding him with one hand and rushing around the room, gathing his clothes with her other.

Balling his clothing in the crook of her arm and holding him now tightly against her shoulder, she listened at the door.

Yuki didn't really care if he was seen now, he only cared that he was now pressed against the girl's shoulder, so close to her neck… He could feel her heartbeat beneath him, smell the sweet scent of her hair as it brushed across him. He had an uncontrollable urge to bury himself in that hair and never come out.

Satisfied that no one was around, Tohru slipped silently into the hallway and over to Yuki's room. She sighed as she shut the door behind her. "Okay, here you go," she said, setting both Yuki and his clothes on his bed. Suddenly the world felt so much colder without her touch…

"There, now when you change back, you can get dressed and come down for breakfast," she said. "Oh, and Yuki," she leaned over so their faces were closer, "I really don't mind petting you, but please promise me next time you won't drink so much, okay?"

She was smiling again, any uncomfort between them forgotten. "Sure, I promise," he answered, he was smiling too.

She left him sitting there staring after her as she ran off to fix breakfast for everyone. After only a few minutes he transformed back into his normal human self in a puff of pink smoke. He got dressed in a light purple Chinese-style shirt and dark blue pants, and left his room to brush his teeth before going down to breakfast.

He thought to himself as he descended the stairs. He was amazed, he really had drank much more than he should have last night, but he barely had any headache now. He could only attribute it to her. Tohru. She'd cared for him. It had healed him; he just couldn't feel bad with her around. She was like his tonic. Before he'd realized it she'd become so important to him, nothing in the world meant more to him now. He _loved_ her. Truly loved her.

As he walked into the kitchen, she was standing in front of the stove in that blue denim dress she loved to wear on weekends, pink frilly apron covering her front. She turned and smiled at him in the doorway…

And he knew he would never be the same again. And he'd have it no other way.

**~End~ **

**A/N:** Okay, so that's the first story I've ever posted for anyone else to read. Normally I just pester my boyfriend into reading them once, getting his opinion, and reading them myself after that. But I decided this might be fun. If you liked the story and wouldn't mind taking the time, feel free to send me a review. I don't intend to be pushy about them, so I'm not going to yell at you if you don't. :) This is also the first Fruits Basket story I've ever written, so if you think I got the characters too OOC, just let me know; I'll try to do better next time. I do hope you enjoyed it though. :D _Later._


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